Before it was a pizza empire, Two Boots was two filmmakers trying to fund their Sundance feature. Nearly 40 years later, the East Village-born pizzeria has become a landmark of a New York slice and creativity. We talked with co-founder Phil Hartman about music, Mardi Gras pies, and the Sofar Shows that keep the magic alive.
Tell us a bit about Two Boots’ story and how it intersects with NYC’s creative community.
Two Boots was originally opened by two indie filmmakers—my ex-wife Doris Kornish and me—who needed money to finish our film No Picnic, which had been accepted to Sundance. The film went on to win Best Cinematography and earned praise from The Village Voice (“The one movie about the East Village that gets it right.”). But Two Boots pizza took off faster than expected and soon demanded all our time. Over the years, we’ve sold over 60 million slices, and I’ve still managed to write and direct two feature films. To feed our love of cinema, we also opened Two Boots Video and the Two Boots Pioneer Theater.
How did Two Boots first get involved with Sofar Sounds?
Great music has always been part of the Two Boots DNA—not just the sounds of New Orleans, but folk, blues, country, jump, jazz, Americana, punk, and pop. All three of our founders’ kids are musicians, and two of them—Odetta Hartman and Camellia Hartman—have active careers as touring artists. They’ve performed at Sofar shows and also help coordinate live music events at our stores. So, partnering with Sofar was a natural fit.
Any fun or memorable moments from a Sofar event?
We had a blast catering the Halloween 2024 Sofar event. Odetta designed a themed pie called The Ghost Note—a spooky spiderweb pizza that looked incredible and fit the vibe perfectly, especially when served by the haunted Sofar crew.
Quickfire Round!
What’s one thing about Two Boots most people don’t know?
Even some of our longest-time fans don’t know what our name means! The “Two Boots” represent Italy and Louisiana, because we serve pizza with a Cajun twist.
What’s been one of your wildest pizza creations?
Every Mardi Gras, we roll out The Swamp Witch, which features alligator sausage. People say it “tastes like chicken,” but it’s definitely for the adventurous eaters.
If you could create a limited-edition Sofar x Two Boots pie, what would be on it?
We’ve created a lot of music-inspired pies over the years—The Meg (Meg White), Radiation Vibe (Fountains of Wayne), Animal Collective, and Buckminster (inspired by Dr. Dog, who requested a Philly-style “top-sauce” pizza). We’ve also honored legends like Dr. John, Irma Thomas, Charlie Parker, and CBGB itself. So maybe we’d do a mash-up: The Animal Vibe Queen—a “sampled” pizza pulling ingredients from all those pies.
Big thanks to Two Boots for being a longtime friend of the Sofar community and a champion of music, creativity, and great pizza. Our shows wouldn’t be possible without incredible local venue partners like Phil! Want to catch a Sofar night near you? Explore upcoming shows near you!
